After one has suffered injuries in a car crash, they need to know how the specific circumstances surrounding their situation may help to award them greater compensation depending on the actions of the driver at fault. Read the following information to learn more about common Chattanooga car accident causes, as well as the ways that a skilled Chattanooga crash attorney can make a difference in your case.
Examples of Common Chattanooga Car Accident Causes
Common causes of car accidents in Chattanooga often include the following scenarios:
- Drivers who are not paying attention
- Individuals running into the rear-end of other cars at intersections or when the traffic slows down in front of them
- Drivers turning right on red lights in front of other traffic
- Drivers running through stop signs or red lights
- Drivers merging into traffic when it is not clear
- Drivers being waved across traffic into oncoming traffic
The majority of these causes include an inattention to the rules of the road on the part of the driver, which could be due to a myriad of reasons such as lack of sleep or inebriation. The following information takes several scenarios involving common Chattanooga car accident causes, and how they can specifically affect the amount of compensation that could be awarded to an injured party.
Crashes Involving Drunk Drivers
Car collision cases involving drunk drivers need to be handled differently than other car collision cases when an individual has a momentary lapse of attention. If an individual who has been drinking intentionally gets behind the wheel and violates the law by driving while intoxicated and then collides with somebody else to cause a serious injury, that individual who caused the collision now has a heightened level responsibility as they intentionally violated the law. The amount of any damages recovered by an injured individual goes up significantly in these types of cases and should be handled by an experienced drunk driving attorney who is well versed in these matters.
Speeding in Chattanooga
When an individual is speeding, they are going more than the legal speed limit, and they are doing that intentionally. Speeding is an intentional act that also causes greater injuries. The faster a car is going, the more force it brings to a collision and, therefore, the more potential damage and the greater the potential for injuries as a result. A case involving an individual who was speeding needs to be handled differently than a typical car accident case.
Running a Stop Sign or Red Light
Stop signs and red lights are governed by very specific traffic laws and any time an individual violates those traffic laws, they have committed a crime. If a driver runs a stop sign or a red light and causes a collision, they have caused the collision while committing a crime, and that is a heightened level of responsibility. Everybody on the road agrees that running a stop sign or red light is against the law, and if an accident occurs, that needs to be handled very specifically.
Driving at Night
Driving at night makes it more difficult to see what is going on in and around the road. The danger of a collision is increased when the visibility is decreased. Driving at night can have a lot of different effects on the case, including whether or not an individual should have seen the car that they ran into. It brings in a lot of concerns as far as comparative fault between different cars and different drivers, as well. A collision at night requires a level of investigation and witness gathering that is more specific than a case that happens in the daytime.
Driving in the Wrong Direction
When an individual is driving in the wrong direction, they are creating an extremely dangerous situation. When driving on a restricted access road, like an interstate or a freeway, an individual does not expect a car to be coming from the opposite direction and will not be on the lookout for that driver. When somebody does come in the opposite direction, in violation of the law, it is much more likely that a collision will occur, and because the cars are going in opposite directions, both the relative speed and risk for potential injury is increased significantly. There are greater damages and a higher degree of fault when an individual is going the wrong way on a roadway.
If you have suffered an injury at the hands of a negligent driver in the above situations, reach out to a car accident attorney today to learn more about common Chattanooga car accident causes, as well as the next steps you can take to obtain the compensation you deserve.
